By reducing the berthing time of a vessel in and out of ports, SeaIntel's paper says, an extra lag is created in the liner's schedule which the shipping line can use to slow down the vessel en route to its next port of call. With a two hour berthing time reduction, which is then built into a 200-mile trip to the next port, the line would save $2,000 per port call if the vessel was steaming at 14 knots and nearly $6,000 if it was steaming close to 19 knots.
Ports and Ships website says SeaIntel calculated that if five ports can reduce berthing times by half an hour each, almost $10m can be saved annually from reduced fuel consumption on the trade as a whole. If those five ports can reduce berthing times by three hours, the annual savings on the trade would jump to $40m.
Read the full article on http://ports.co.za.
